Dent remover



Dec. 7, 1954' c w I 2,696,240

I DENT REMOVER Fiied Oct. 28, 1949 INVENTOR United States Patent DENTREMOVER John Hardin Crowdcr, Tulsa, Okla.

Application October 28, 1949, Serial No. 123,997

1 Claim. 01. 1s3-s2 My invention is of that class of devices used toremove dents from the fenders and bodies of automobiles. It can also beused for this purpose on aircraft, boats or other objects of materialcapable of being dented or bent.

Another use is in manufacturing where it is necessary to have aneconomical and eflicient tool as a'substitute for a forming press forbending or drawing materials to conform to certain shapes with a fairdegree of accuracy. Other uses can come within my claim.

The main advantage of my invention over other devices for the removal ofdents is that it does its work without leaving hammer marks and with aminimum of injury to the finished surfaces. Sanding, grinding orrefinishing the surface is unnecessary after most jobs in which thisdevice is. used.

Due to the adjustability of the support of this device convex dents canbe removed as well as concave ones, as the magnet can be placed on theinside or the outside of the material to be straightened.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan of my invention showing the arrangement of thethree legs of the tripod in relation to the plate which forms the top ofit and which supports the thrust bearing and other moveable parts.Figure 2 is a side view showing my device in operation, partially insection. Figure 3 shows part of a leg of the tripod in which the mannerof connecting the parts with bolts can be seen. Fig. 4 is a view of thescrew through the yoke and plate of the tripod.

In order to better understand my invention, please refer to the drawingin which 1 is the electromagnet, having a thin cover 2 of non-abrasivematerial to keep the metal of the magnet from coming into direct contactwith the surface from which the dent is to be removed.

A screw with a handle 3, operating through a swivel 4 containing athrust bearing actuates the magnet which is guided by the yoke 5fastened to the plate 6 which forms the top of a heavy adjustabletripod.

Under some conditions this device may be used with the magnet onlywithout the armature.

The feet of this tripod are broad as there is great pressure on themwhen the device is in operation and it is desirable to spread thispressure on the greatest area possible to prevent denting by the feet.

Under some conditions, such as the removal of deep dents in fairly heavymaterial it might become necessary to actuate the magnet by some meansother than the screw in the tripod. In these cases a small crane or ajack could be used effectively.

Each leg of the tripod is made in two sections with holes through whichbolts may be placed. This allows adjustments in the length of the legs.

The adjustable legs 8 of the tripod have at their feet 9 non-abrasivematerial 10 so that they will not injure the finish of the surface onwhich the device is used.

A piece of magnetic metal 11 having a non-abrasive cover 12 to protectthe finish of the material on which it is used, forms the armature ofthis device. This wound armature is for use where it is not practical tohave one of the type of (11) such as when more flux is necessary toexert a greater pull.

Sections of magnetic metal of various shapes can be used as armatures tobring surfaces to the desired are when removing dents from curvedmaterials.

A large amount of current is necessary to operate this device as thereis great flux leakage, especially when working on metals. I wouldrecommend direct current of moderate voltage and high amperage as aresult of my experiments. A D. C. are welder generator would beexcellent as a source of power although in some cases storage batteriescould be used for a short time. A. C. seems to cause vibration in metalwhen the magnet is used on it and the finish might be damaged if it camein contact with the metal of the magnet or the armature. If no D. C. isavailable A. C. could be used.

In the operation of my invention, for example when it is desired toremove a dent from an automobile fender or body, the adjustable tripodis set up on the side towards which it is desired to move the materialdented. The armature is placed on the opposite side.

The face of the magnet is now placed against the surface dented and thecurrent turned on. The screw is revolved and the armature slowly pushesout the dent as it follows the magnet. When the desired position hasbeen reached by the dented material the current is turned 01f and thedevice removed.

Having described my invention and its operation in detail, what I nowclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An eleetro-magnetic dent remover for operation upon thin materialcomprising a tripod support having legs which are adjustable in length,a yoke rigidly mounted at the top of said tripod, guide members slidablymounted in said yoke, an electro-magnet secured to the inner ends ofsaid guides, a screw threaded in said yoke and rotatably connected tosaid electro-magnet, and means connected to the outer end of said screwfor turning the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 377,184 Woodin et a1 Jan. 31, 1888 1,577,055 Bertschy Mar. 16,1926 1,771,287 Bryan July 22, 1930 2,432,338 Reilly Dec. 9, 19472,510,253 Reed June 6, 1950

